Women's Hoops: First Half Surge Lifts MTSU Over FAU 92-76

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By Andrew, Jan 16th 2010, 8:03 PM

Brittany Bowe paces FAU with 16 points

The Florida Atlantic women’s basketball team was outscored 53-33 in the first half and could not recover as Middle Tennessee defeated the Owls 92-76 on Saturday afternoon from the Murphy Athletic Center.

The Owls (8-9, 4-3) had five players score in double-figures with Brittany Bowe leading the way with 16 points. The senior point guard twisted her ankle on the first possession of the game but came back after missing just two minutes of action and played 37 total minutes in the game. Bowe also led FAU with five assists, two steals and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

FAU also received solid performances from Jessica Knurick, Breana Turner, Carla Stubbs and Lyrell Barfield who all cracked the double-digit mark in scoring.

Another bright spot for the Owls came from the play of freshman Kalyn Dinkins. The Orlando native tallied career-highs in points (7) and rebounds (3) and tied a career-high with 11 minutes played.

Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Alysha Clark paced the Blue Raiders (11-5, 6-1) with a game-high 37 points and 11 rebounds. The double-double is the 10th this season for the redshirt senior. Chelsia Lymon also had a record-setting performance and made a career-high six three-point field goals, five coming in the first half. Lymon finished with 20 points and was 7-of-10 from the field with six rebounds and five assists. As a team, MTSU made 11 three-point field goals, the most allowed by FAU in a game this season.

Middle Tennessee began the game on a 19-4 run with the help of three Clark layups and two three-point field goals by Lymon. After trailing 27-7 coming out of the second media timeout, FAU clawed back into the game and trailed by only 11 at 29-18 with 8:59 remaining. However a blistering 24-15 run by the Blue Raiders over the final nine minutes gave MTSU a 53-33 lead heading into halftime. The 20-point halftime deficit was the largest FAU has faced so far this season during conference play.

The Owls were able to outscore the Blue Raiders 43-39 in the second half but the large lead was too much to overcome for FAU. The Owls have now lost two straight conference games after opening Sun Belt play with a 4-1 record.

FAU will return to Boca Raton for their next game this Wednesday against another tough Sun Belt opponent, Arkansas-Little Rock. Heading into play on Saturday, the Trojans were in possession of the top spot in the Western Division with a 5-1 conference record. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from FAU Arena.